What makes you a good candidate for a Hair Transplant surgery?

In my career, the biggest challenge I face on a day to day basis is the convincing it takes to make a patient understand whether his scalp is in a condition to undergo a hair transplant surgery or not.

As most of us know, Hair transplantation is basically the replacement of follicles taken from the donor area, situated at the back of the head to the recipient area, generally close to the hairline or in the crown area. But, not everybody makes for a good hair transplant.

Here are some criterias that one needs to match in order to have a successful hair transplant:

1) First Things First

When patients come to us for consultations, they are under the impression that their surgery is a one seating scenario and the hair will grow back magically. It is important to understand the hair transplant procedure and the result that it can produce is extremely important. Even if you are on prescription, the progression still might get delayed.

2) What to expect?

As a Surgeon, I always explain to my patients that only a fixed number of donor's hairs can be transplanted to the areas of the scalp that are thinning. If the eligible hair is not used efficiently, then you might end up wasting the hair completely.

Some of thetransplanted hair also might become victims toshock lossas happens in most cases.

3) What makes you a Poor candidate for Hair Transplants?

Generally, males who have ‘diffuse unpatterned alopecia’ (DUPA) do not have any effect of a hair transplant. The reason for this is an unhealthy donor supply, which makes them poor candidates for a hair transplant.

People who are diseased with a donor supply for whichever reason. This is a lot more frequent in women than it is in men. It is typically found in some forms of genetic alopecia in women.

People who have very low hair densities also make a hair transplant surgery nearly impossible.

Those who can afford only a few seating, but do not have enough funds to go ahead with surgical hair restoration over time.

What Characteristics are most important for hair transplant?

Hair color (We need to find the similarities between the hair color and match it to the underlying skin color)

The color is actually associated with the underlying skin color, which is of great prominence. The lesser the contrast, between the scalp and the hair color, the better is the coverage potential.

The intensity of hair curl (or if the curls are not there)

The degree of curl is really important for hair. The coverage that can be granted to the scalp highly depends on the amount of more curl and the wave one’s hair possesses.

The hair caliber or whether the hair shaft is fine or coarse in nature.

There are various characteristics on which the success of a hair transplant depends.

Even though High density is extremely desirable, but hair characteristics that are not favorable are sure to nullify the benefits of this density.

Scalp flexibility, known as scalp laxity is also quite an important characteristic. In layman terms, it basically means how loose or tight your scalp is. For example, A tight scalp (low laxity) makes it difficult for the removal of follicles.

What do you need to ask yourself?

There are various questions you should ask yourself, before undergoing the hair transplant procedure:

What is thelevel of baldness that I am dealing with?

Do I feel that I have strong donor hair?

Do I completely understand thepositive and negative consequences of hair transplant?

What are my other alternatives? Can I not opt for any of them?

Do I understand how this would affect the other logistics in my life such as the time off work, all the financial costs, the cost to my relationships, etc.?

I strongly advise you to analyze the following points, if you are under 25 years of age:

Have I given all of my other options a thought?

Is my Hair Loss affecting me mentally and to what degree?

Have I tried medication and waited for the results?

Am I ready for the financial involvement that will occur throughout my life?

What is going to happen if I do lose hair after my surgery?

Your Expectations: Setting right expectations about the hair transplant is key to Success!

When you are planning to undergo a Hair Transplant, then it is vital, as per me to have the right expectations. You also need to understand your hair's characteristics, donor density, donor supply, physiology, and laxity play the most prominent role in the short and long-term success of your Hair Transplant.

We work with you to plan the perfect surgery toget results that you want to achieve, but it needs to be an attainable feat. Even though we are experienced and some doctors are experts in their fields, but unfortunately the unrealistic expectations really end up spoiling the procedure.

Even though a surgeon can give you a data of his achievements, but frankly he can only give you the potential of your hair growth after having consulting sessions with you. After understanding all the characteristics, a good surgeon can give you the right estimate.

So, now a picture of ideal candidacy for hair transplant must be clear to you. The careful assessment of all these aforementioned points will tell you about your candidacy or eligibility for hair transplant. So, whenever you feel frustration or anxiety due to growing baldness and thinning hair & have any thought in mind about hair transplant, then remember all these points, you will have a better idea about your situation and will act as the lighthouse for you. Still, if you are not sure about your hair loss, growing baldness and not sure about what to do exactly, don't worry we are here to help you. Just write down us in comments below or just come for consultation. We can definitely help you, as we have helped more than 115982+ patient of various kinds of Hair loss & 700+ patients with hair transplant for baldness. There is a definite cure to Baldness. Yes, hair transplant is surely for you once you are proved to be the right candidate!

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About Author:

Dr. Dhananjay Chavan is established & renowned hair transplant surgeon & dermatologist with experience more than 12 years in hair transplant surgeries. He was also a Male pattern baldness victim & has undergone successful hair transplant using hair transplant with 11365 grafts - highest till date known in world hair transplant surgery field. Now, he helps others to get their hairs back at HairMD India. He loves cooking and travelling all the time with his beloved Fortuner.